Jo Gilbert: Life in the Eyes of a Vampire Hunter (rewrite)
by DrawingMyHeartOut
Summary: My rewrite of my old story. The cousin of Elena and Jeremy comes back to Mystic Falls with a secret. When her secret is revealed, how will her loved ones react?
1. Prologue

**Hi, all! As you can see, if you're getting the email for this, I've recently changed my username. And now I don't even remember the old one. I'm rewriting Jo Gilbert, because the old version of it sucked. **

**And to the people who had me on auther alert: I am so sorry I haven't written in a while. Life has just been crazy and has honestly sucked a whole lot the past several months. And there's probably more reasons I haven't updated my stories. But really, I just suck. And I am so sorry. **

**I am going to be rewriting several of my stories, but I'm going to be a good girl and do them one at a time. Starting with _Jo Gilbert: Life in the Eyes of a Vampire Hunter. _This is the prologue. And I hope you enjoy!**

**Again, my deepest apologies for my crappy me-ness and not writing. But I think It's okay a bit because these rewrites will be so much better. **

* * *

Some people don't acknowledge how painful the past is. Some people know all too well how painful it is. I was one of those. Yet here I was, running back to the town that started my story. The town that launched my painful memories. The town where I learned the truth. The truth that we lose people. Sometimes they leave. Sometimes they are taken from us. And sometimes something a little supernatural happens to them.

My name is Jo Gilbert. And I am a vampire hunter.


	2. Chapter 1

**Here's chapter 1, and the pilot episode from Jo's POV. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the songs mention in the story, nor do I own anything TVD related. **

* * *

"_I tear my heart open,_

_I sew myself shut,_

_My weakness is _

_That I care too much._

_My scars remind me_

_That the past is real._

_I tear my heart open_

_Just to feel."_

I almost flinched as I passed the sign welcoming me to town. The memories came rushing back. _Why am I doing this to myself? _I asked myself. Of course, I knew the answer. I was ignoring my own pain to be close to my family. The family I had left, at least. Elena and Jeremy.

I'd been here for Uncle Grayson and Aunt Miranda's funeral several months ago. And I'd nearly had a panic attack. But I was going to suck it up for them. And for myself.

But you see, I'd been in their shoes. I grew up in Mystic Falls. I lived there until I was fifteen, the same age as my younger cousin Jeremy was now. After my parents died, I went to live in Texas with my mom's brother.

I decided to stop for a bit at The Grill before going to the house. It was really the only good restaurant in town, and I wanted to stall going to the house that my parents had left me. I didn't feel one hundred percent ready to face the painful memories that I knew would flood me when I walked through the door. I grabbed a table and noticed a newspaper in the booth next to me, but before I could pick it up, a waitress came over to take my order.

"Welcome to Mystic Grill, my name's Vicki, and I'll be serving you. What can I get for you?" she greeted in a falsely cheerful voice.

I looked up to see the sister of Elena's boyfriend. "Hey, Vicki. Long time, no see."

"Oh. Hey, Jo. Didn't recognize you. You back in town?" she asked, chipper tone gone.

"Yeah," I shrugged, "I wanted to be closer to my family."

"Well…can I get you anything."

"Just coffee," I decided.

"Cream?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

She left and I picked up the newspaper to read the page that had caught my eye. By the time Vicki returned with my coffee, I was halfway through the article about two locals who had been killed by an animal. A mountain lion was suspected. I rolled my eyes at that part. That was obviously a cover up. There just weren't any mountain lions near Mystic Falls. Well, none that I knew of. And even if there were, they wouldn't just randomly attack people. I finished the article and my coffee and left after paying. Might as well get this over with.

I pulled up to the house twenty-five minutes later, after a ten minute sit in the parking lot of The Grill, convincing myself I was okay.

The yard and housework had been kept up over the years, thanks to Uncle John's hiring of people. I'd called him before leaving Texas tot ell him I was coming home, and he didn't have to pay anyone anymore, though he decided to keep the people for the yard work. It took some convincing, but I finally gave in, agreeing that I would probably never find the time, or motivation.

I took a deep breath as I looked up at my childhood home before getting a few of my bags from my Honda. "Okay, Jo. You can do this," I muttered to myself.

I was right about the memories flooding. As soon as I entered the house and stepped into the foyer, they all hit me at once. My mom cooking dinner. My dad reading the newspaper at his desk. Family game nights. Coming home that one dreadful night to find my parents dead. Throats ripped open. They'd ruled it as a burglary gone wrong. But nothing was missing from the house. And the horror stories I'd heard growing up. And Uncle John and Uncle Grayson's skeptical looks and words. I knew the truth.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, not willing to fall to the floor and curl up in a ball and cry like I wanted to. I had to be strong. So I opened my eyes and went to unpack.

An hour later, I decided to head to the cemetery. I needed to visit my parents and Uncle Gray and Aunt 'Randa. So a short while later, I was walking down the path that I remembered led to their graves.

"Okay then," a voice ahead of me said. I looked up from my feet to see a dark haired girl push her pant leg down.

"Elena?" I asked as she straightened.

She turned to me and smiled brightly. "Jo? What are you doing here?" she asked as she rushed over to hug me.

"I decided to come home. You know, I missed you guys, and I'm done with school and everything. Plus, I figured between You, Jenna, and me, we can get through to Jeremy," I replied with a smirk.

She frowned a little. "How did you know?"

"Well, dear cousin, as I do with you, Jer-Bear and I Skype sometimes. It's kinda obvious. He never came out and said he was doing drugs, but he did ask how I coped. Kinda hinted that he was asking if I ever tried drugs. So how are you and Matthew?"

"Oh. I guess I never mentioned it the few times we did Skype. But we broke up," she said, biting her lip.

We began walking down the path to our parents' graves. "So in other words, you broke his heart," I guessed, smirking a little at the flash of guilt that crossed her face.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Please, Elena. He is head over heels for you. It can't have been his choice. But it's okay. He'll be alright. You both will move on. But I totally understand. You know, I was dating Bobby Fell when my parents died. I broke up with him a week later."

"Really? So you don't think I'm insane?" She asked. When I nodded, she continued, "Well I was gonna break up with him before the accident. I'd been stalling it, but I was going to." I glanced over at my cousin as we arrived at the graves. Our parents were all four in a row, making it easy to visit them all.

I was about to reply when I noted that Elena suddenly looked nervous, like someone was going to sneak up on her.

"You okay?" I asked.

She looked over her shoulder before nodding. "Yeah. I was just here a bit ago and it got creepy."

"Creepy how?"

"It got foggy and there was this crow. And I thought I saw a guy. Then I got so freaked out that I just ran, and then I ran into Stefan and fell. And then he disappeared and then I saw you."

"Who is Stefan?" I asked, slightly amused at how she rambled.

"New guy at school. He just started today. Stefan Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" Warning bells went off in my mind. "He doesn't happen to have a brother named Damon, does he?"

"Not that I know of. All I know is he's new and clearly hates blood. But it's fine. Hey, you wanna come over a little later? I'm supposed to go meet Bonnie and Caroline at The Grill later. You can pretend you're not an old lady and come hang out with high school kids," she grinned cheekily.

I chuckled, "I might meet you there. I have to finish unpacking and fill my fridge. I just needed a quick visit here. What time?"

She informed me of the time, promising me that she would text me if anything changed, and we parted ways, not before I promised her a ride home so I could also see Jeremy and Jenna.

I bid my buried family good bye and decided to get the grocery shopping over with. That lasted much longer than I liked, but I got the food and other items bought and packed in my car in record time. I unpacked the groceries and the rest of my belongings as soon as I got home and when I was done, I plopped on the couch with a huff.

As I looked around the living room, I noted that nothing really changed about the house. I hadn't decided if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet. I figured I'd find out that night when I went to bed. But for now, it was time to meet my cousin at The Grill.

It was dark out now, and cooler out, so I slipped on my black leather jacket before getting in my car and driving to The Grill. I had a feeling I would be spending a lot of time at the local restaurant that many of the highschoolers claimed as an after school hangout place.

When I walked inside, I looked around to see that it was fairly busy. My eyes scanned the room, searching for my cousin. When they landed on her, they also took in the presence of a young man next to her. One that I definitely didn't recognize.

"Hey, Elena," I said as I came up next to her. I smiled and greeted Matt and Bonnie, who were standing in front of my cousin and the other teen.

"Jo, this is Stefan Salvatore, Stefan, this is my cousin, Jo Gilbert," Elena introduced us.

I shook his hand and smiled, noting that his hands were cool in temperature. Though I knew that didn't mean much; even my hands were cold all the time. Maybe being back in town made me paranoid. Though I still wanted to keep an eye on him. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he smiled.

A short time later, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, and I were seated at a tall table, Caroline trying to learn more about the mysterious new teen in town. I had to force myself not to roll my eyes at her obvious flirting, but I did listen closely to his answers.

Eventually I tuned out though, sleepiness creeping up on me. I tuned back in to hear the girls telling him about the annual back to school party at the falls.

"Everyone goes!"

I saw him turn and smile at Elena. "Are you going?"

"Of course she is!" Caroline answered for her. Elena only chuckled and agreed.

"Then I'll be there."

My eyes narrowed at him. I suspected him, and if I was right, which my gut was telling me I was right, and my gut was almost never wrong, just what was his game? And why did he have to involve my cousin in it?


End file.
